1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aligning apparatus, and more particularly, to an aligning apparatus for aligning an alignment object to the aligning apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, a factory for fabricating display devices utilizes automatic individual processes to attain mass production, improve workability, and cut down production expenses. The automatic processes automatically transfer and align products by employing an automated system, such as a conveyor belt and a robot, to perform the corresponding processes and load the process-completed products, thereby minimizing manual operations. As a result, products can be mass-produced by a small number of monitoring workers.
An aligning apparatus for aligning a product in a target position is required to fabricate products according to the automated processes. A related art aligning apparatus will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the related art aligning apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an alignment object, a first alignment bar and a second alignment bar are damaged due to collision of the alignment object with the first and second alignment bars, when the alignment object is abnormally loaded.
Referring to FIG. 1, the related art aligning apparatus includes a loading plate 10 on which an alignment object 20 is loaded, and first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 for aligning the alignment object 20 loaded on the loading plate 10. Herein, the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 are driven in close and open directions in which the alignment bars respectively move toward and away from each other, for transferring and aligning the alignment object 20 loaded on the loading plate 10 to a target position. As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the related art aligning apparatus, the driving distance of the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 is preset according to a size of the alignment object 20. In the event that the alignment object 20 is abnormally loaded on the loading plate 10, that is, for example, a size S1 of the abnormally-loaded alignment object 20 is greater than an isolation distance D1 when the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 are most close to each other, the alignment object 20 or the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 are damaged due to collision of the alignment object 20 with the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40. In addition, when a defective object having a larger size than the normal alignment object 20 is loaded, the defective object or the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 are damaged due to collision of the defective object with the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40.
As described above, in the related art aligning apparatus, when the abnormally-loaded alignment object 20 or the defective object is damaged, the operators must stop an operation of a production line and remove damaged pieces, which results in low productivity. Moreover, when the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 are damaged, the operators must stop an operation of a production line, remove damaged pieces, and perform a process for separating the first and second alignment bars 30 and 40 from the aligning apparatus, and coupling new alignment bars. As a result, productivity is reduced, and maintenance and repair costs for the aligning apparatus are increased.